Carson and I both play drums (he's now gotten MUCH better than me) and we were blown away by this kid.

And a quick word about running.  Lots of people are getting outside in the warmer weather to run, many for the first time.  I hear a lot of people say, "I tried running but it's just not for me."  Totally fair statement, but I want to give you a couple tips to increase the chances of you loving (or at least liking) running, because let's face it, we're a nation of fat f**ks who really could use a good form of exercise that we enjoy enough to do consistantly.

DO: Get a pair of running shoes.  Don't run in shoes that don't support your feet and the pounding they'll take.

DO: Get some great songs on your iPod.  You don't need something fancy to clip it to your arm. Just hold it.  They don't have to be fast songs.  Any song you love will work.

DON'T: Just head out and start running until you get tired, then stop.  That's why people hate running.  You don't need a fancy program or schedule, although you can download one online.  Just run for two minutes at an easy pace, then walk for a minute.  Repeat that about 7-10 times.  After a week, run three minutes and walk one.  Then increase it to 5, then 10 minutes of running.  If a one-minute break isn't enough, walk for two.  Point is, make your running segments longer over time until you can run 30 minutes without walking.  It's amazing how your body will respond over a few weeks until what seemed impossible is actually fairly easy.

DON'T: Get caught up in the moment of a 5K start and haul ass out of the gate.  Let tons of people pass you and run your own pace.  You'll be passing LOTS of people who started out too fast.

DO: Hydrate.  But you don't need a bottle of water on a 30 minute run.  Just make sure you drink water afterward.

DON'T: Dress too warm.  Your body will heat up after about 5 minutes.  Dress as if it is 20 degrees warmer outside than it really is.  And feeling cool air while you run actually feels really good.

DO: Run in the rain.  It's awesome.

DO:  Register you and a friend for a 5K.  Having a run to get ready for is a great motivator.

DON'T: Be surprised if you're nervous before your run.  They call them "Pre-Race Jitters" and everyone gets them.

DON'T: Be embarrassed to take walk breaks during your 5K, but really, you shouldn't need them if you trained properly.

DO: Stick with it!  Exercise is so beneficial and again, did I mention your big fat ass?  I kid! I kid!  :)

Just back from a trip to New York City and Maine for Spring Break! 

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I grew up in Boy Scouts.

My dad was a Scout Leader from the time I can remember.  First, he was my big brother's leader and when I was old enough, he was my leader. Dad and I didn't always see eye to eye but Scouting was one thing we bonded over.  I will always him remember going on hiking, fishing and camping trips with me and the other Scouts.  He taught me how to tie knots, start a fire in the rain, make a sling for broken arm and camp without leaving a trace.  And I remember he'd use a week of his vacation to take me to Camp Alexander in Colorado. 

One week at camp sticks in my memory.  Dad was a great shot with a rifle and somehow
that ability was passed down to me.  At Scout Camp, the kid with the best score at the rifle range won "The Silver Bullet Award."  The top score possible was 50 points.  I was leading
the entire camp of about 250 boys with a score of 42.  Dad was so proud of me and, being a kid that didn't have a whole lot of other abilities for a dad to be brag about, I was proud of myself too.

But there was another kid at camp that week who was a good shot too.  We checked the scores posted at the range and he'd scored a 43!  Both dad I knew what we had to do.  Buy
another round of bullets and try again.  Success!  I got a 44!

Everyday we'd check and if the other kid got ahead of me, Dad, who didn't have a lot of money, would buy me another round so I could try to re-take the lead.

At the end of the week, I had a 48!  With half a day to go, the other scout would have to get a near-impossible 49 to beat me.  They took the scores down so no one would know for sure who won until the ceremony that night. 

As we sat waiting through the long list of other awards, "Fastest Mile Swim", "Worst Case of Poison Ivy," I remember being nervous not just for me, but because I wanted Dad to be proud of me.  When they announced the other boy had won with a score of 49, I still remember Dad putting his arm around me and patting me on the shoulder in consolation. I think I felt prouder at that moment than I had in a long time, and not only that, I felt loved.

Scouting is a great experience and creates many memories for boys and parents.  Sports are great too, and I truly believe that together, Scouting and sports are a great combination to teach a boy athletics, sportsmanship, love and care of the outdoors, honor, integrity and
independence.

The problem is, the world isn't perfect, and this combination doesn't always work out. Sports doesn't always teach sportsmanship or decency or respect.  Look at the number of scandals involving athletes from the high school level right through the pros.  And too many times, sports teaches smaller, slower or weaker boys the very harmful idea that they're not as valued as boys who can excel in football, basketball and hockey.

Scouting isn't perfect either.  When I was growing up, there was usually some kid who brought a bag of weed to Scout camp. (and before you declare what an evil thing that is, there was the kid who brought a bag of weed to church camp, too) Scouts, like all boys, will sometimes fight, swear and mouth off at their parents.  But aside from all that, Scouting is truly a life-changing experience for most boys, teaching them things that will stay with them for a lifetime. I like to say Scouting is so fun that you're learning things without even realizing you're learning.

And when I hear people criticize Boy Scouts of America for not allowing opening gay boys and leaders to join, I understand, but I also want to speak up for Scouting too.  Both sides really should be expressed for anyone to have a better understanding.

First of all, there may or may not be gay leaders or scouts in my sons troop.  Number one, we don't care, and number two, there's no box on the application that says, "Check here if gay." If I knew someone in Scouting to be gay, I'm not about to say anything.  Why would I? As long as they're safe around the campfire and not stealing my son's compass,let them learn to camp without leaving a trace and make a fire in the rain just like I did.  So while the BSA's official policy might not allow openly gay members because they are a private organization, it must be the world's least-enforced rule.

Second, if you're over the age of 40 or so, you probably remember a time when being gay was a very scandalous thing.  My older brother went to a Christian college and a few months later he was home for good.  Why? Because the married president of this Christian college was revealed as having a gay affair. 

This was in 1975 and back then, being gay was considered wrong, just like way back in the 50's, African American's drinking out of the "Whites Only" fountain was considered wrong.  Thank god that somewhere along the line, people fought for their rights and convinced the world that the color of your skin and your sexual preference doesn't mean anything when it comes to water fountains, leading a Christian college, or becoming President of the United
States.

BUT, progress doesn't always happen at the pace you and I want it to.  There's a deep-seated lesson taught in Scouting:  "Keep myself...morally straight."  It's taken years to get some people to realize you can be both gay and morally straight.  Scouting is almost there but hasn't quite made it yet, and I have an idea why.

Here it is.  And it had nothing to do with discrimination or morality.  It has to do with what a parent would think of their hormonally-charged 15 year old gay son sleeping in a tent with another 15 year old hormonally-charged gay scout.  I personally believe that Scouting is trying it's best to avoid situations where boys could have sexual contact.  For the same reason you wouldn't let your 16 year old daughter sleep in a tent with your neighbor's 17 year old son, I
believe the Boy Scouts organization is doing their best to avoid a massive swarm of lawsuits brought on by parents who's kid had sex while on a campout.

I could, of course, be wrong.  (I'm wrong a LOT!) But this makes sense to me.  Why else would the BSA continue to back a policy that reflects the social standards of 1970, when the great, great majority of Scouting families would totally welcome gay scouts?  I mean, more scouts would mean more popcorn sales income, right?

So there's the other side of things.  Maybe something you didn't know or haven't thought about.  The good news is, just like Lindsay Lohan going to jail, it's just a matter of time before Scouting gets it right.

---Dave

Disclaimer:  None of what I've written is meant to completely express the opinions of any Scout, Scout leader, Scout family or the Boy Scouts of America.

Here's my weekend, summed up in pictures.  Of course, that's not accurate at all.  It's more like Carson's weekend, summed up in pictures.  Because when you think about it, if I'm taking the pictures, they're not going to be mostly of me, right?

So the following photo gallery has not just pictures I took of other people this weekend, but pictures I drew of me doing stuff myself.  Yes, I know I could have taken selfies (I hate that word, BTW, but that's another story) but who thinks of taking a picture of themselves while you're in the middle of doing something?

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Okay, this is not sexy to me at all because I'm married.  BUT, if you are into this sort of thing, here you go.  

Click Here to see the gallery!